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Honda SFA Concept Gets Japanese Debut

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After it first debuted in Indonesia last October, the Honda SFA concept motorcycle seems to be getting serious, as Honda will be showing the up-market bike at this weekend’s Osaka Motorcycle Show and next weekend’s Tokyo Motorcycle Show.

While Honda only mentions that the SFA concept is a “street-fighter style light-weight motorcycle with a single cylinder engine mounted on a trellis frame,” sources in Indonesia say the fetching small-displacement machine is built around the 150cc CB150R for that market.

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Racing

Bimota Racing at IOMTT with American Brandon Cretu

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Italy’s favorite boutique brand will be back at the Isle of Man TT races this year, with a two rider team that includes American Brandon Cretu.

Cretu and his teammate Ben Wylie will campaign for Bimota at the big four road races (North West 200, Isle of Man TT, Ulster Grand Prix, and Macau GP) on-board the Bimota BB3 superbike.

This is not the first time that Cretu and Wylie have raced together, having shared a pit while at the Wylie Racing team during the 2011 and 2012 Isle of Man TT races.

Though the Bimota BB3 was ruled ineligible for FIM events, the international road racing scene has no hang-ups letting the S1000RR-powered superbikes lineup on the starting grid.

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Bikes

MV Agusta F4 RC Leaks Again with More “AMG”

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We are still waiting for the 2015 MV Agusta F4 RC to break cover officially, but the top-of-the-line superbike from Varese continues to make itself sneakily available to the public.

First there were the leaked studio photos, which looked spot-on to the photos MV Agusta USA teased us with at its press launch earlier this year.

Now, we have more photos of the F4 RC leaking, though with some changes to the design — namely more prominent “AMG” badging, for MV Agusta’s newest minority partner.

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Bikes

Photos: 2015 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Endurance Race Bike

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If there is one team name that is synonymous with winning the FIM Endurance World Championship, it has to be SERT. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has won 13 EWC titles in the past three decades, by far the winningest squad on the motorcycle endurance circuit.

Last-year’s runner-up, Suzuki is looking to be back on top for the 2015 season, despite having the oldest racing platform on the starting line — a statement that perhaps highlights the consistency and teamwork that makes SERT a cut above the rest of the World Endurance teams.

Continuing that tradition in 2015 will be riders Vincent Philippe and Anthony Delhalle, who will be joined by their new teammate Etienne Masson.

SERT will test their mettle April 18th, at the 2015 Bol d’Or 24-hour race, but we’ve got a few high-resolution photos of the beautiful EWC-spec 2015 Suzuki GSX-R1000 race bike right here, after the jump.

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Racing

Daytona 200 Gets Online Streaming

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At first it seemed the only way to watch the Daytona 200 was to be there in-person, but DMG has been able to swing a last-minute deal with FansChoice.tv to bring the internet live streaming of the historic race.

Sanctioned now by the American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA), it is not clear at this time what ASRA’s coverage will include, but the green flag drops at 1pm Eastern Time, Saturday, March 14th — commentary, or not.

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News

Gone Riding: Yamaha YZF-R3

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Things will be a little slow on Asphalt & Rubber today, as we are out near Willows, CA testing the new Yamaha YZF-R3. We will be spending the first part of the day on a 120-mile street ride, and then following that up in the afternoon by riding the new “West Course” at Thunderhill Raceway.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also try searching for the hashtags: #YamahaR3USA & #FirstRideR3 for the thoughts of our colleagues as well.

Yamaha’s entry into the small-displacement space, the YZF-R3 specifically fills a void in Yamaha’s lineup for a small-displacement, learner-focused, sport machine.

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Recall

Recall: Kawasaki Concours 14 Police Bikes

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Police officers take note, your Kawasaki Concours 14 patrol bike might be up for a recall. In total, 194 units of Kawasaki’s police Concours 14 and 14ABS motorcycles may have electrical problems, as the added police accessories may cause the 30 amp main fuse to blow, and the wiring harness may chafe, leading to a short-circuit.

Because blowing the main 30 amp fuse will cause the engine to stall, and thus increase the risk of a crash, Kawasaki is recalling these units (made between May 8, 2008, to February 20, 2013), and filed a recall with NHTSA.

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News

Ducati CEO Leaves the Door Open for a Scooter Model

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In a recent interview by Moto.it with Claudio Domenicali, the Ducati CEO fielded a number of questions about the Italian company’s business and its relationship with its German owners (read it here in Google English), but one question was of particular interest: a Ducati Scooter.

The often rumored, often debated, and often denied subject is perhaps the most feared topics for Ducatisti, and it ranks generally just below discussions on which oil to use, which tires are best, and how to break-in a motorcycle engine properly.

That being said, it seems we are headed for another round of debate, as Domenicali is quoted as saying the following to Moto.it: “a scooter marked Ducati is not blasphemy.”

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Bikes

Moto Guzzi X-Rally 1200 Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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Moto Guzzi would do well to add a scrambler model to its current lineup, and build off the hype generated by the Ducati Scrambler’s launch, not to mention the “post-authentic” movement (whatever that means) that seems to pull models out of the 1960’s and thrust them into the modern conversation.

Helping us imagine such a machine is Oberdan Bezzi, with his Moto Guzzi X-Rally 1200 concept. Maybe too heavy to appeal to die-hard off-roaders (I can hear the moans already in the comments section), but the X-Rally 1200 certainly fills the need for a brutish enduro with classic cues — not to mention, a break from the beaked-ADV status quo that the Stelvio tries so hard to chase.

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Bikes

Video: Dragging Elbow on the Vyrus 986 M2

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We already told you that the Vyrus 986 M2 was going racing in the Spanish CEV Moto2 Championship, with British rider Bradley Ray on-board, and now we get to see the first fruits of those labors.

Testing at the Cartagena circuit in Spain, Ray helped Vyrus develop a number of aspects on the Moto2 machine, especially the chassis, suspension, and air box, which Vyrus hopes to implement at another test later this month.

Until then, we leave you with this slightly frantic helmet rotor cam of Bradley Ray, dragging elbow, on the Vyrus 986 M2. Enjoy!

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